Supervisors approve Whitewater event venue with conditions after neighbors raise traffic, noise and trespass concerns

Supervisors approved a conditional‑use permit for an event venue, amphitheater and up to eight on‑site cottages at Whitewater Farm Road in the Henry District, imposing new conditions to address neighbors’ concerns.

The applicant, represented by a Whitewater development team, proposed a roughly 12,580‑square‑foot indoor venue with an outdoor amphitheater and eight two‑bedroom cottages to support events and overnight guests. Planning staff and the planning commission recommended approval with conditions that limit outdoor events to no more than 40 per year (no more than six per month), cap outdoor music and amplified sound, require buffering and tree preservation, and require a right‑turn lane into the site from Route 301.

Neighbors who live adjacent to the site objected at the public hearing to potential trespass, pond/pond‑dam impacts, and congestion on Route 301 near Hanover High School and Oak Knoll Middle School. Josh Davis, a nearby property owner, told the board the cottages “would have a capacity of up to 32 guests” and warned that overnight visitors might trek to his pond; he called the location “the wrong place to build it in Hanover County.” Reginald Martin, another resident, documented congestion during school pickup times and said exit traffic could back up onto the county road network.

The applicant accepted several stricter conditions in response. Revised permit conditions in the record include limits on outdoor amplified music (no more than two amplified instruments for up to two hours, with outdoor music ending by 8 p.m.), an 18‑month lapse date for the CUP if construction has not begun, required parking within designated areas, a landscaped buffer and a 4‑rail fence behind the cottages to deter trespass. The applicant also agreed to place no‑trespassing signage along interior property lines and to use downward‑directed, shielded lighting.

Planning staff said traffic analyses did not trigger a broader traffic study but that a right‑turn lane from northbound Route 301 into Whitewater Farm Road would be required by condition to aid ingress. The applicant also committed to underground retention for stormwater beneath the proposed parking area and to coordinate with public works on drainage and any required easements.

The board voted to approve the conditional‑use permit with the amended conditions after planning commission and staff recommendations. The CUP includes restrictions on amplified outdoor events and an expiration clause requiring construction to begin within 18 months of approval or the owner must seek an extension.

The permit is now subject to the conditions as adopted; any material change in use or expansion beyond those conditions would require a new county land‑use application or additional approvals.